


Auction

by anesor



Series: Star Wars Snippets [9]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: AU, Between ESB and RotJ, Father issues, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 19:00:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20662142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anesor/pseuds/anesor
Summary: Hondo crawls out from the cracks to make a profit on his latest acquisition: a Rebel pilot worth apileof credits to many people, like Lord Vader.





	Auction

* * *

_ Let all who hear the words of the most clever, most informed, and indeed, the most stylish private agent, take heed and gape in awe. He who is the font of wily ploys has captured the skillful and dextrous pilot who bombed the puissant Emperor’s Death Star station. _

_ No mere pilot can match wits with the great Hondo Ohnaka and his comrades, brandishing his wit and merry soul against the staid and boring warriors of the laughable Republic for many years. Custody of said pilot will be available if the costs are well renumerated. Send contact link through the Pirate Queen of Takodana. _

* * *

Vader fumed as he descended the ramp. His foolish son had managed to escape his grasp before he could convince the boy he was foolish for running away at Bespin. The old Weequay pirate was harmless, at least compared to Rebels and terrorists who just didn’t want to admit the Empire was better.’

And that traitor Senator got her claws into Luke somehow. The boy just didn’t see how…

An old surplus droid dating back to his youth led him into the hodgepodge structure. If anything Vader was surprised this meeting was not in a rotting ship’s hull. A messy and aging structure, he wondered if there were any more pirates than the old one. He didn’t feel any threat, no more than aging equipment he could blast his way out of even without a saber.

Now, it would be more interesting if that traitor Senator was involved. Capturing her would simplify getting his hands on the boy, He would see how quickly she would betray him for her _precious_ Rebellion...

“Ah, the very tall and dramatic Lord Vader, you grace my humble home with your looming cape and power...” The old pirate looked ancient, riding a floater chair. “The great Hondo is gratified to finally meet your lordliness at last as an equal in influence and power. The lord is a trifle early, as I am expecting at least two more interested parties interested in reimbursing the massive costs for the terrib...”

Nothing had really changed about the fool, but it was a long time since he wanted to laugh.

He smiled where no one could see and raised his hand, choking and lifting the fool.

“-ck.” The old Weequay waved and struggled as he rose above the lift, struggling to speak.

“Speak plainly, you old fool. I tire of your noise.”

The Weequay took a few breaths and made amusing noises when he dropped onto the lift. “Mighty is the Lord of the Great Empire. Woe unto those who underestimate your generosity. The infantile and untrained boy I have caused to be captured is being held in a place that only the Great Hondo can locate. Hasty, nasty rebels might cause great destruction in their foolishness to acquire their pilot.”

_"Where is the pilot?” _ Vader clenched his fist.

Hondo, the frightened weasel that he was, winced. “I regret the delay. The Great Hondo will arrange all for your comfort, the finest of melons and choicest of wines to sweeten...”

“Where?” Vader’s vision grew fuzzy despite the augmentation. He took a step back and looked at the now grinning pirate.

“Not far, not far. The Great Hondo truly regrets you did not take the great and subtle Hondo seriously but business is business. The pilot is very secure under the great Hondo’s care, an inestimable bait. Fire, T-5.”

Vader saw on his display that saturation in his blood was off the scale as he tried to force his legs to make that leap to physically tear that wrinkly Weequay limb from limb… before...

None of his limbs responded and as he fell, he drifted away feeling no pain.

* * *

He woke, still painless and fumbled to make his prosthetics respond. They sluggishly got him upright and he almost clunked his own helmet as his arms overreached. The Force must be there but he could not feel more than the faintest trickle.

A snicker came from behind him.

He had to steady his head when he rose and turned too fast.

Luke was sitting on a crate, wearing Padmé's grin. “Hello, Father. I did not expect to meet you on this trip.”

_ Cheeskar nok! Tooska chai mani. Maya sleemo... Fierfek Ulwan! Karking goo... **Again! Kriffing again** _

“Yes, well. Now what? Food drops from the ceiling every so often. I just wish Artoo was here to slice the system.” The boy’s smile faded, mechanical hand twitching.

Vader turned sharply. “You have an _outdated_ R2 unit, not just the protocol droid I saw on Bespin?”

Luke paused a moment. “Yeah, he’s a lot of help, kept me alive a bunch of times.”

Vader crossed his arms and looked like he wanted to tap his toes. “That would not be a problem if you would join with me.”

“What’s so great about that? I’ve got friends, how many friends do you have, _Faather?”_

“With the Dark side, I do not need friends. They only betray you.”

Luke scoffed. “Right, I’m sure the emperor is a laugh at parties and you go out drinking together every week. And the Dark side kisses your forehead when you have a fever. ...Shares a squidgy bedroll in frozen conditions. Smiles, just happy to see you instead of angry?”

Vader was silent.

Taking a breath, Luke resumed his rant._“You’ve never shown any feeling for me as your son,_ just a _**pawn**_ for power. What good is power if you’re all alone? You’re so cold in the Force, like you have frostbite all the way through.”

“I am warm enough. Words cannot rip doors open.”

Brows knit, the boy rolled his eyes. “Come on, there has to be more to your life but power, anger, and violence.”

“Power is all I need, the power to make things the way _ ** I ** _ want them.”

Luke sagged and waved an arm. “You wanted it like _this? I don’t even know who my mother was!”_

Vader swelled and stepped closer, attempting to glare down through the mask, clenching and releasing his fists. Jaw clenched, he said, “That _ ** betrayer ** Jedi _ took her, took _ ** you ** away from me!!!” _

The boy glared up at him, seeming unafraid. “On Empire day wasn’t it? You weren’t out destroying the old republic, killing Jedi the way the _emperor_ ordered? Everyone in the emperor’s way just _happened_ to evaporate when he made an announcement? A tooka knocked over a lamp and the Jedi Temple was destroyed? And Leia says _**I**_don't get politics.”

“I had to pay the pri...” Vader’s growl halted when he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say.

“The what? Was this deal like buying from a trader, or making a deal with a Hutt?”

Back on track, Vader snarled, “At least Sith are honest about seeking power and being evil! Not like the Jedi!”

The boy dared a laugh. “Only from a certain point of view, a crazy point of view, is an ‘honest evil’ any better.” He looked away and sighed. “I was kind of happy as I grew up, dreaming you were a top smuggler pilot, helping people at least sometimes. That’s a whole lot nicer than a _ tyrant.” _

“_ Do not call me that.” _

The boy felt of surprise. “All the things you’ve done since you Fell, and you don’t want to be called… that?”

Vader finally looked away. In an almost quiet voice, he said, “My master’s previous apprentice was named that.” He flexed his hand. “He cut off my _ hand, _ I cut off _ his head.” _

“_You cut off **my** hand!_ You think I’m going to forgive that, just to get more _power!?_ What kind of father cuts off his son’s hand?” Disbelief and anger fought in Luke.

“What kind of _brother_ cuts off the rest!! Cuts off legs and arm leaving me a helpless carcass! Right before he said he loved me and left me to burn!!!” Vader is shaking with as much pain as anger.

Luke appeared sad for a long moment. “Owen hated him too for no reason he ever could explain. But Ben was never that far, saving us during the drought, getting me out of a hopper wreck, even getting me and the droids from the Jawas. I’ll ask him… whenever I get out of here.”

“I _ killed _ the old man on the Death Star.” Vader’s voice still reeked of contempt and old rage.

Luke rubbed his head awkwardly. “Well, yeah, but his ghost advises me sometimes...”

Vader growled and scanned the chamber. “Is he here _ now?” _

That made Luke smirk. “He’s a ghost. he’s wherever ghosts go. Don’t you know? You were trained both ways, right? But you’re leaving something out. Maybe a lot of something before I’d…” He paused, looking up. “Whatever, Ben was a good thing in my life overall, and most of the rest was to keep me hidden and free. You _ should _ know how important free is _ ** if ** _ you grew up on Tatooine. Not sure I believe it if you went and became some slaver’s overseer.”

“I did what I had to do.”

The young man crossed his arms and eyed the Sith.

Vader tried not to react, it felt too much like Padmé when he did something she didn’t like.

And Vader had no idea how to turn his son up sweet.

“Ben said that, too. I think you’re both wrong.”

“The empire is far better than the useless Republic ever was, emergencies don’t have to await a squabbling Senate. War, like the Clone war, cannot happen.”

“How many people died on worlds like Kashyyyk and Ryloth, just for existing? Have you even seen death counts outside illness for the last forty years? How often has anyone not human even get ahead in this Empire?. I’ve seen figures and records on how Twi'leks and Wookiee populations have been decimated between deaths and slavery. Nearly human hasn’t saved many either. What about all the other races? The Ithorians, the Rodians, and the Gungans. What kind of bigot is the emperor to systematically break over half the peoples of the Republic?” His voice had gotten louder.

“_Shut it,_ boy. Emperor Palpatine is a gre...”

“Why?! Do you hate near humans like Bothans and Togruta _that_ much?” Luke pressed.

“I do not hate Togruta.”

Luke waited for Vader to finish, but his father stopped, even if he looked tense. Shaking his head, the younger man said quietly, “We should not talk politics. That is kind of normal for my friends and their parents. I’d ask you about the Force, but you’d probably try to sneak in poodoo about the Dark. So, I’ll ask about Mom. I guess she was shorter since you’re so much taller than me…”

Vader sighed and finally sat on a nearby and creaking crate. “She was shorter but that didn’t matter so much. She was so strong, fighting for everything she believed in even when she was so young. She loved me totally until Kenobi turned her against me!”

“_Politics_ again, father? Who was she? What did she look like? Did she, do I have more family? I would have liked cousins but my aunt and uncle didn’t have any children…”

“Padmé Naberrie Amidala had served Naboo as queen and then the Republic Senate. She was my angel from the day we met on Tatooine, so determined to beat off that occupying merchant guild. All around her were sister and parents and friends who were so close they were sisters, assistants, and bodyguards… Everybody loved her.” This silence was not painful.

“Bodyguards.”

Vader’s voice held the ghost of a smile. “She was kind to a scruffy pod-racing crazed slave boy. Naboo’d been invaded and she’d escaped to get help from the useless Senate as queen. They only talked but didn’t even have any military to put down the invasion.”

“Did she ever go home again? All her family and...”

“We helped her get to the Gungans and they helped retake the palace…”

“You were there, in a war? How old were you if you were a boy? Did you fight?”

“I destroyed a battle droid control ship with… a cranky R2 astromech by firing inside the docking bay. That was the most wizard explosion. I didn’t see the fighting in the palace, Master wanted me to get out of sight and safe...” Vader’s chuckle sounded odd.

Luke’s eyes got big. “Wait, was that Artoo? R2D2? The same blue-domed droid that Threepio absolutely refuses to translate sometimes when he’s on a snit?”

“He was part of Theed’s defenses… but I got him and I gave Threepio to your mother after… after my mother died. He was a lot more help in the war than Threepio… I’d thought they'd been destroyed when...”

Smiling slightly, Luke said after the pause, “I got them on Tatooine as salvage. Ben seemed surprised to see them, but it must have been the Force, only Threepio would be willing to calculate the odds… What happened with Mom and the palace invaders?”

Vader looked away. “I don’t know exactly. In the end, your mother got her people free and served the rest of her term as Queen. I got back from orbit and… the Force was drenched in anger and grief. Your mother in control of the palace, Darth Maul was presumed dead and Master Jinn _was_ dead.”

“Jinn, who’s that? You weren’t with Ben?”

“Master Qui-Gon Jinn gambled on a pod race to free me and get the parts for Padmé's ship. He said I could be a Jedi like it would be a great thing. Darth Maul killed him in the Theed Palace. Kenobi inherited me, as Jinn’s apprentice.” Bitterness was bleedingly clear.

Luke said nothing for a very long moment. “So Ben’s master was Jinn, and you were also going to be Jinn’s apprentice too. I thought Master Yoda was Ben’s master…”

The laugh from Vader was full of contempt. “The old troll was _everyone’s_ master, grandmaster to everyone after hundreds of years. I don’t think he ever heard a new thought or idea he wouldn’t dismiss. Sidious _outplayed_ the comatose Yoda. …Jinn was the one who taught Kenobi saber and _ignoring_ Force visions. Jinn was a rule-breaker, he wasn’t supposed to claim a second padawam but he told the Council he was going to teach me because...”

Vader stopped, puzzling at something and said in almost bewilderment, _“What?”_

“Sounds like Ben was unhappy with _his_ teacher. It was hard for me to get to pilot without teachers to certify me. I got so mad at Biggs when he went off to flight school, I knew I was a better pilot and needed the opportunity, but I was stuck on the far…”

“He _hated_ me. Said I was dangerous.” Vader’s voice was flatter than a droid.

Luke finally looked annoyed. “Yeah, sure. He hated you sooo much he lived on Tatooine for almost twenty years to watch over me while my aunt and uncle raised me. When he told me you were a great pilot and great friend, that wasn’t hate.”

“_**He said loved- past tense!”**_

“_**On Tatooine!”**_

Vader’s noise was indecipherable. “After your mother stepped down as queen, she became the Senator for Naboo before we met again. I was assigned to be her guard when Tyranus started the war. We ended up in a deathpit arena with different huge, hungry beasts and your mother climbed atop the pillar and shot down… She was… magnificent. Never before in my life was I glad to see that mass of the Jedi rescue party, Even so, it was a foolish tactical decision, hundreds died from the battle droids in the first battle of Geonosis.”

“Guess they cared if you survived.”

Vader turned to glare even with the mask and rubbed his right arm. “Karking Sith cut my arm off But I showed them, I snuck off and got married.”

Luke rubbed his own hand and sighed. “That is a rotten tradition. I’d bet Palpatine would love me to cut off your head if that’s how promotions work.”

“Kenobi cut my limbs off too!”

“That was clearly fatal. Did he get power or rewarded? Or was he trying to help people, even if you didn’t agree? Far as I can tell, all he got out of it was life on Tatooine with womp rats and Hutts.” Luke’s lip curled with contempt. “_You_ got an emperor’s favor.”

“My Master is strong and wise in the Force.”

“If you say so. I’d rather learn from a rancor.”

Vader crossed his arms in annoyance. “I am surprised no other buyers have joined us.”

“You really think there will be a third buyer? If there is, I doubt it will be any friend of either of us.”

“You seem aware for a moisture farmer.”

“Leia’s taught me a lot.”

Vader’s fists clenched. “You’re not kriffing that rebel scum are you?”

An instant of surprise and Luke smirked. “I thought _I was Jedi scum,_ why would that matter? She lost all her family ‘bout the same time I lost Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen.”

“You have family, me.”

Luke stared for a second, a sound between a giggle and a sob squeaked out. “No, we’re just good friends and both miss Han… for different reasons. I was wondering if you’d consider a truce to get out of here.”

Vader rose and scanned the hall. “If the pirate is true to form he and his remaining men are all drunk out of their minds...”

“Thats right. You said _‘again’_ earlier.”

Shaking his head, Vader was slow to continue. “The pirate Hondo trapped Tyranus, Kenobi, and Skywalker for ransom like this. Tyranus was once Jinn’s master but he was such a karking waste by the time he led the Seppies in the war.”

Luke snorted. “I think the Force is having a joke on someone- not sure who as everything keeps circling back around you.”

Waving that question off, his father asked as if a joke, “You had an idea? Your planning thus far has not been impressive.”

Facing the mask, Luke repeated, “Will you let me go my separate way if we get out?”

“It is more likely my troops will pull us out.”

“How often does unlikely happen around us?”

Vader laughed, “A head start, at best.”

“The gas isn’t coming out floor vents, they’re higher than I could find while I waited. Or the air might be clearer if it’s a heavier gas. The crates aren’t stable enough to stack them and get up higher.”

“I would prefer not to be ransomed.”

* * *

Luke was uneasy at climbing to stand to Vader’s shoulders, but he went high enough to find the vents. He pried them loose enough to crimp them shut, to slow delivery. They worked their way around the large hall.

When he dropped down to stand on the floor, the two Skywalkers were silent, staring at each other. The Force a heavy mass of whirlpools and eddies, waiting for a spin to form a funnel.

Though they could barely feel that right now, the air had thinned of the gas only a little. Luke could feel a little more from his time up higher.

_ \--This way, Luke.-- _

Luke smirked and got to a wall panel that looked solid before. “This way out, Father.”

Vader paused, but followed.

They moved through blocked access shafts, bending the sheet metal in places, fresher air helping clear their lungs. Luke led them straight to where their sabers were and nearby laughter. Once they got away, the pirate base stayed quiet, their exit was not yet discovered.

Circling toward the hanger outside, surplus sentry droids are already non-functional when they find the pirates’ ships.

They reached the ‘great pirate fleet’ and Vader wanted to laugh at the age and condition of the ships. His transport looked partly stripped. “Not much selection, my son.”

“We just need the best...”

“_**If**_ some of them fly, they need a larger crew.” Vader frowned. “I would prefer good defenses, then concentrate on piloting.”

“Hey, there’s a model I know well...” Luke points out one similar to the _Falcon._

“Pffaugh. Not enough shields for serious combat. _That_ one can be upgraded better and it’s a lot sturdier than it looks.” Points at the Rigger class freighter.

_ \--You’re running out of time, boys. Argue ships later...-- _

“I don’t think we have time to do upgrades right now, Father. How about we take the faster one with shields?”

“That one.” Then Vader visited every other ship briefly to do some sabotage, not that it took much effort with their condition. “They will not pursue us.”

Luke checked the older ship, feeling for problems visually and in the Force before he reached the cockpit. “Prepping to launch...”

Vader hurried in and saw a transparent Ben in the co-pilot’s seat, and just stopped.

_ \-- Yes?-- _

“Oh, thanks for the help, Ben. Launcing in thirty, best speed.” Luke’s excitement for flight came through.

Ben rolled his eyes, with a slight smile.

“_ I killed you. _ You disappeared… _ even your presence dissolved.” _ Vader overflowed with shock, hand raised as if to touch the transparent man. “I can feel you’re there?”

_\--I have always been here. There is no death, there is the Force. Even the flawed Sith Code says the Force will set me free. I am free of the aches and pains of an aging body.--_ Obi-Wan smirked. _\--I serve deep within the Force.--_

Vader almost stuttered. “...more powerful than I could imagine?”

_ \--We do have our melodramatic moments, do we not?-- _

That made Vader growl. He started to leave but changed direction to sit the engineer bench.

Luke grinned as he launched the ship.

_ \--You are aware that Padmé survived your attempt to choke her into submission?-- _

“You poisoned her mind!”

–… _She delivered and named Luke, sure her husband was still within you. Then she passed into the Force, though the medical droid found nothing wrong. It would not feel the pall of darkness _over her.--

“The Jedi were evil!”

Ben pointedly looked at Luke. _ \--Do you really still believe that? Is the galaxy better, _ _ happier, with our passing?-- _

Vader simmered, but remained silent.

The Force-ghost’s sigh was a nearly silent breeze. _ \--We were stressed and spread far too thin. We… I made mistakes. That did not make our intents evil.-- _

“** You cut off your own Padawan’s limbs!” **

_ \--After he used the Force to choke his very pregnant wife. Honestly, Anakin, I had to get her to medical care to try to save them from your madness,-- _

“But you didn’t save Padmé.”

_ \--Maybe if Master Che lived or Master Nu, they might have known how to help Padmé and block the frigid drain on the Senator. I didn’t know what it was and she faded away. I had to get Luke away before I keeled over.-- _

“You _ should _ have joined me, like Luke should.”

Luke looked up from the boards. “Hey, leave me out of this argument. All I could do then is sleep and poop.”

_ \-- How well do Sith treat their students and acolytes, Anakin? Not just cruelty but lack of care. You should have been healed better, valued more than this and I think you now that. Where’s the passion, the emotion you had on a drinking night with your Padawan and your men? It’s been twenty years, and Padmé would not want you locked away like this.-- _

“Do you ever even fly just for fun?” Luke didn’t look up.

“It is too late for me.” Fresh darkness washed through the cockpit.

_ \-- It is too late for me. You still have time, Anakin, time to make a better decision.-- _

Vader stood and retreated to the single cabin.

* * *

Luke gave Ben a sideeye. “Did you really hurt him that much?”

Ben faded a little. _\--Yes, I grieved it even as I did it. I was angry at his decision for betrayal and hurt by all the Jedi deaths I felt every second in the Force. He’d led the troopers into the Temple to destroy everyone inside. I lost count of how many bodies were killed by a lightsaber. I went a little mad at finding the room full of the youngest, as I did not want to believe he had done this. The next time I saw him he was trying to kill your mother for trying to call him out of the darkness. I had to stop him fast.--_

The Force Ghost looked Luke in the eye. _\--Logically, I should have finished him. Hell seemed mete for that. All the deaths he caused after that felt like my fault too. Your mother still believed, even as her life drained away, that there was still hope for him. Maybe that stayed my hand, or the dregs of my own attachments, but I could not kill him outright.--_

“All we have is hope sometimes, Ben.” Luke smiled a little. “And our friends.”

The ship sailed smoothly enough through Jump while they thought.

_ \--How goes the planning to retrieve your friend?-- _

“Leia’s just about done with preparing her cover. I think she’s underestimating the Hutts...” Luke had trouble finding the word.

_\--Cruelty or power?--_ Ben didn’t look very confident.

“Rationality. Even stacking it with infiltrating a group under different covers, Hutt ruthlessness may be worse than the Empire.” Luke smirked. “So, I’m going in the front door.”

“**No, you will not!** Not against them. Smuggling scum is not worth the risk!” Vader stood in the archway.

“I’ve been messing with the Hutts since I was a young. Aunt Beru showed me how to make it look stupid and harmless… enough to make it work.”

“That’s insane!” Vader loomed over his son.

Ben’s didn’t even try to hide his smirk. _\--Really, Anakin, it’s no worse than your plan for the Citadel. At least this plan only has one participant unable to fight...--_

“That was different!”

_ \--No, it wasn’t. This plan has no Padawans or hyperaged Vod teens either.-- _

“That was over twenty years ago. Hutts only respond to overwhelming power and tactics.”

“Father, I _know_ Jabba will not survive our plan. Do you think he deserves to survive?”

Vader growled. “If you would join me… I will get your friend out.”

“Join me, Father.” Luke’s eyes blinked too much as he swung around to face his father. “Join me out in the real world where there’s more than power. Where _family_ is important, I’d like to meet my family and know my dad instead of some kriffing Lord Vader...”

“I...”

“...It...”

Luke launched himself at Vader, knocking him onto the deck and into a tense embrace. “When was the last time you were hugged? By someone who gave a kriff?”

Hesitantly, Vader put his arms around his son, not quite believing. He took a deeper breath, feeling a warmth that wasn’t just a close body. He took another conscious breath. “There is no place for me outside the Empire now. I have done too much.”

Holding his father’s chest tighter, Luke whispered, “That wasn’t what I asked. Do you want family more than frigid power?”

Teetering on a cliff. Vader could not speak.

_ \--You have more family than you believe, Anakin.-- _

“Please?” The boy’s voice echoed an infant’s, a child’s, his mother’s, and even a faint memory of his tired grandmother’s voice in the Force.

Vader reached up to run his glove through his son’s fair hair. “Very well.”

The Light almost burned him.

**Author's Note:**

> Shame, shame, Vaderkin! Ben will never let him live that second time down. I really like seeing Vaderkin flailing, he missed all the teenage rebellion of his kid(s), or thinks he has. His rebel with blasters and big eyes. 😀
> 
> Please review and say what's bad or good. I've no beta, so I love to fix missed typos!  
\----  
Star Wars is the property of Lucas and Disney. No infringement is intended or profit made from this story


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